Best Rugged External Hard Drives

In the 21st century, data is probably one of the most valuable things you can have so it’s always wise to do backups. One of the safest ways to do backups is on external hard drive. But even slightest damage can do a lot of harm to your standard external hard drive. Especially if you’re always on the go and usually just throw hard drive into your backpack.

Good choice for durable, sustainable and safe external hard drive is a rugged one. Nowadays you can get an external hard drive that is waterproof, dust-proof and shockproof. We have created a list of top 7 best external hard drives that will withstand the daily wear and prevent any data loss. All of them are well made and long lasting.

Top Rugged External HDD Comparison

Rugged External HDD Read/Write Speed Comparison

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Related: External Hard Drive Buying Guide, Xbox One external hard drives

1. ADATA HD710 Review

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This is one of the best choices if you love hiking around or driving a bicycle or maybe just want a reliable storage device. Adata HD710 is made of a unique silicone type material, therefore with some proper seals this external hard drive is waterproof (can withstand 1.5-meter deep water for 60 minutes) and dustproof rated at IP68. It’s also military-grade shock resistant. This hard drive has fast USB 3.0 interface and offers 3 color choices. The design is pretty sporty and modern. The Adata HD710 includes wrap-around USB Cable, making sure you won’t lose it.

2. Silicon Power Rugged Armor A80 Review

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If your not a fan of Silicone and squishy plastic, you might like a Silicon Power Rugged Armor A80. This is a very classy looking external hard drive with a special compartment for USB cable. And if we are talking about connections, Silicon Power comes with USB 3.0 cable comes with an A-male-to-A-male, unlike standard A-male-to-B-male USB cable. The Rugged Armor A80 meets military drop-test standard MIL-STD-810F 516.5 which means that this HDD can withstand a drop from 4 feet, it also meets the IEC 529 IPX7 waterproof standard, meaning you can hold it underwater in 3 feet depth for 30mins. Who else loves this drive? The Armor A80 is the top pick on Nerdtechy.

3. LaCie Rugged Mini External Hard Drive – Best for Mac users

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It’s rugged, compact and very fast, that’s what you can say about this portable drive in few words. The external hard drive itself is made from brushed aluminum and inelegant box frame. We get mixed feeling about the design. This external hard disk seems like premium product hidden behind some seriously thick rubber. However, this rubber does its thing. LaCie is shock resistant and can deal with 1ton of pressure. Interface on this thing is USB 3.0, and it’s fast enough to transfer all your data, before you get annoyed. What does others think about LaCie? Well, its also top pick on Gearpatrol and Hubpages.

4. Silicon Power Rugged Armor A30 Military-Grade Review

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Military class rugged external hard drive that can withstand almost everything! Armor A30 indeed have silicon and rubber armor all around it, so it meets US military MIL-STD-810G (transit drop test) standard. So feel free to throw it around. But what if it gets scratched? Don’t worry about that either. The Armor A40 has a hexagonal pattern all around it that performs a scratch resistant function. This external hard drive also features USB3.0 delivering marvelous read and write speeds. USB cable sits very practically around the A40s case.

6. SanDisk Extreme 500 Portable SSD Review – The Best Rugged SSD 

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A perfect external hard drive for those who are always on the go and seek fast read and write speeds, excellent for photographers and videographers (See our Best Portable Hard Drive for photographers). It comes with 3 versions: 120GB, 240GB and 480GB. It may be not as much as HDDs offer, but most of us don’t even use that 1TB. The SanDisk Extreme is suited for those who consistently write and read files from their storage device because speed on this thing is superb. And considering this is an SSD, price on this thing is decent as well. We assure SanDisk Extreme 500 won’t wear and tear and because it’s an SSD it has no moving parts to break unlike with HDDs. It’s shock and vibration resistant. Oh and we just love its size – it’s tiny and compact compared to HDDS.

7. Transcend StoreJet M3 Review

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If you don’t want to think a lot and spend time deciding which external HDD to buy, just get Transcend. It’s basic and durable, does the thing it’s supposed to do. Plus it has a great price for what you get.
Like all hard drives in this article, this one is also very durable. Covered in Silicon, Transcend is Military-grade shock resistance. As an interface, it has USB 3.0, and it’s backward compatible with USB 2.0 making it great for everything – backups, gaming, you name it!

Last update on 2024-05-03 at 12:42 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API